Very feminine names that were unusual and exotic a generation or two ago have risen to the top of the US popularity lists: I’m looking at you, Isabella, Sophia, Olivia.

So what’s the parent to do who loves this kind of elaborate girls’ name but wants something a lot more rare?

Some of the best choices in this style don’t even make it onto the extended list of American baby names: All the names starred below were given to fewer than five baby girls in the US in the last year counted. And the others were used for only a handful of babies.

Is Cassiopeia or Petronilla too much name for a baby girl (or even a grown-up woman, for that matter)? Maybe, but you can always call her Cassie or Nilla and trust she’ll grow into her august appellation, at least by the time she’s 40.

And if you like super-feminine names for girls, why stick with the safe Gabriellas and Valentinas when there are all these exotic beauties out there?

Nature baby names have blossomed in popularity in recent years, especially for girls. Flower names such as Lily and Violet share the spotlight in the Top 100 with other nature-inspired names such as Autumn, Ruby, and Hazel.

But one of the most exciting thing about nature names is how wide and deep they run. There are so many categories, from flowers to trees to gems to water to earth to sky to weather and animals, that thousands of names qualify as nature-inspired. There are nature names that come out and say what they mean, such as Coral and Cloud, and then there are those whose relationship to nature is hidden. And of course many of all those types of nature names are highly unusual.

If you scan the annals of distinguished women in American history, culture and science, you’ll find that a surprising number of them had distinctive names as well, names that could provide unique-ish choices with interesting back-stories. Several of them have a funky, fusty period flavor that may or may not appeal. What do you think?

AbbaGoold Woolson– a turn-of-the-last century teacher-author, remembered for her liberating efforts against ‘the physical discomfort and disease caused by corsets and other constricting forms of dress.’

AdelinaPatti, christened Adela, was a renowned operatic soprano, the daughter of Italian opera singers, who could sing some of the most difficult arias by the age of four.

AlbionFellows Bacon (named for her father)— a housing reformer who pushed laws to regulate housing sanitation of tenements.

Alta Weiss was a double threat—a pitcher with a men’s semi-pro baseball team who went on to become a doctor.

Some weeks I’m astonished by the range of names we can choose for girls.

We love our children regardless of gender, but when it comes to talking baby names, many of us seem to be on Team Pink. The statistics bear this out: almost 79% of boys born in the US in 2011 received a Top 1000 name, while the same is true for just 67% of girls.

2012 social media babies Like and Facebook were both girls, and rumored baby Hashtag is also supposed to be a she. Meanwhile, former #1 name Mary has plummeted to #112, while her male counterpart, John, remains a relatively common #27.

You know how there are some names you never heard before that suddenly seem to be everywhere?The 11 choices for girls here are those kinds of names. All are so rare they were given to only about 100 or fewer baby girls in the U.S. last year. But behind the scenes in our current database analytics, we see them attracting twice as much attention as the average baby name.

Our conclusion: No matter how unusual they are by the numbers, these names are drawing considerable buzz. And that’s bound to translate over the coming years into usage for a lot more babies.

Besides their incipient popularity, these names share several appealing qualities. Most relate to nature, but in a fresher, less obvious way than the Lilys and Roses we’ve heard so much of in recent years. Many have deeper roots than they first seem, plus intriguing cultural connections.

And is it coincidence that four of the 11 start with the letter C, and seven contain the letter L? We don’t think so.